Machinery and light commercial dealers report that the annual three-day Northland Field Days event held in Dargaville this year saw good sales off the stands, a contrast to the preceding three years when the region was gripped by drought.
Exhibitors say that visitors to the Northland Field Days rallied as a result despite poor Fonterra payout predictions.
The winner of the best new site award was Isuzu Ute.
It also enjoyed a strong year according to Stephen Moore, the dealer principal of Moore Cars, the Whangarei dealership for Isuzu Ute and Kia passenger cars.
Moore says he sold a Ute right on the closing of the Field Days and says that staff on the stand were making deals on all three days.
“The feeling was generally positive and the feeling I got was that visitors were more comfortable about spending money and making a decision on the day in contrast to previous years.”
“Even though the dairy payout was down, the production was way up on last year and I talked to one guy who says he was well ahead of the previous season despite the payout being down,” says Moore.
Cattle handling equipment manufacturer Farmquip says it was it’s best event yet
Farmquip’s Lower North Island territory manager Brendon Carr attributes strong results to the strong beef schedule which gave his main customer base, drystock farmers, the resources needed to make capital investments they had previously put off.
“We tripled sales on the previous years and got lots of very good inquiries. “
More than 20,000 visitors came to the event to see more than 550 exhibitors according to organisers, who also say that some exhibitors enjoyed stable to strong sales at the event.
